Velocipede



(No Model.) 2 Sneets-Sheet 1.

E. G. LA'TTA.

' VELOGIPBDE.

No. 593,479. Patented Nov. 9, 1897.

THE uomus PETERS ca, mom-Lm. whsogmorou. a. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. G. LATTA. VELOGIPEDE.

No. 593,479. Patented Nov. 9, 1897.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII UNITED STATES PAT NTOFFICE.

EMMIT G. LATTA, OF FRIENDSHIP, NEW YORK.

VELOCIPEDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,479, dated November9, 1897.

Application filed November 30, 1896. Serial No. 613,851. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMMIT G. LATTA, a citi zen of the United States,residing at Friendship, in the county of Allegany andState of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Velocipedes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to the means employed for connecting the cranksto the crankshaft, and more particularly to a connection of this kind inwhich the sprocket or driving wheelis utilized for attaching theadjacent crank to the shaft.

The object of my invention is the production of a smooth, compact, andinexpensive construction of the cranks, crankshaft, sprocket-wheel, andbearings which permits the easy connection and dismemberment of theparts without the use of special tools and without defacing theirfinish; also, to so arrange the various parts that the shaft can bedetached without disturbing the bearings and so that the bearings can beinspected after withdrawing the shaft from the hanger or bracket withoutremoving any part of the bearings.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure 1 is asectional elevation of a crank-shaft hanger and adjacent parts embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 isan end view of the hanger and the permanentcrank. Fig. 3 is a view, on a reduced scale, of the opposite end of thehanger, showing the sprocket-wheel. Fig. 4 is a detached elevation ofthe inner face of the detachable crank. Fig. 5 is a cross-section ofsaid crank usual tubular form and provided at each end with thecustomary bearing-cup a, a bearingcone a, and an interposed row of ballsa The cups are preferably engaged with the hanger by screw-threads, asshown. The cones are connected by an intermediate sleeve B, which may beformed integral therewith, as shown in Fig. 1.

O is the crank-shaft, arranged within the sleeve. One of the cranks,preferably the left-hand one, D, is formed in one piece with the shaft.or permanently secured thereto, while the other crank, E, is detachablysecured to the shaft. The shaft is provided at its right-hand end withan external screw-thread c, which engages with a corresponding threadformed at the adjacent end of the cone-sleeve B and near its oppositeend on the inner side of the permanent crank with a conical or taperingcollar 0', which fits into a correspondingly-tapered portion b of thesleeve-bore.

The screw-thread of the shaft has a left-hand pitch, so that thefriction of the bearings tends to force the cone-sleeve toward the left,thereby wedging it firmly upon the conical seat or collar 0 of the shaftand producing a tight fit at that end of the sleeve and, at the sametime preventing looseness at the opposite end of the sleeve by thebinding of the screw-threads.

F is the sprocket or driving wheel, mounted on the crank-shaft betweenthe detachable crank E and the adjacent end of the hanger and having aninternal screw-thread which engages with the external thread 0 of theshaft, only a single screw-threaded portion of uniform size being thusrequired on the shaft for the sprocket-wheel and the cone-sleeve. Thecentral openings of the bearing-cups a are larger than the shaft, andthe annular space between the right-hand cup and the shaft is closed bythe hub or inwardly-extending collar g of the sprocket-wheel, while thespace between the opposite cup and the shaft is closed by a similarcollar or hub h, formed on the shaft between the permanent crank and thetapering seat 0 of the shaft. The hubs or collars g h are made of thesame diameter, so that the bearing-cups may be made interchangeable. Theright-hand end of the shaft and the portion thereof between its conicalcollar 0 and the screw-thread c are preferably turned to the size of thesmaller diameter of such screwthreads, as shown in Fig. 1. The end ofthe shaft just referred to is made tapering and flatsided, as shown atz, and the hub of the detachable crank is formed with acorrespondingly-shaped opening j, which receives the end of the shaft,whereby the crank is held against turning on the shaft and firmly wedgedupon its seat. The end of the shaft and the opening of the crank mayhave any other suitable angular form whereby the parts are reliablyinterlocked.

The crank hub or boss is provided on its inner face with an undercutrecess or socket is, arranged in a parallel plane with the crank, asshown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5, and the hub of the sprocket-Wheel isprovided on its outer side with an outwardly-projecting annular flangeZ, which is seated in the recess or socket of the crank, so as to beoverlapped by the lips forming the overhanging portion of the undercutrecess, thereby interlocking the crank with the sprocket-wheel andholding it against displacement lengthwise of the shaft. The socket ofthe crank is open on the side thereof facing the crank, as shown at 70and this opening is of sufficient width to admit the annular flange Z ofthe sprocket-wheel hub, as shown in Fig. 4, in which the flange of thehub is indicated by a dotted circle and represented as about to enterthe socket of the crank.

M is a locking-bolt which connects the sprocket-wheel with thedetachable crank for preventing loosening of the sprocket-wheel inback-pedaling. The crank is provided with a boss or studn,havingascrew-threaded opening 01', which receives the locking-bolt M, and thesprocket-wheel is provided in its web with an annular row of openings narranged concentrically with the crank-shaft and so that any one of themcan be registered with the opening of said boss by turning thesprocketwheel on the shaft. The locking-bolt passes {)hrough one ofthese openings and into said oss.

In order to prevent the crank from springing away from thesprocket-wheel in forcing the crank upon the end of the shaft, the bossat of the crank is provided on its outer side with a projecting lip 0,which interlocks with a flange 19, projecting from the opposing outerside of the sprocket-wheel and having a lip or inwardly-turned edge 19,which overlaps the lip o, as shown in Fig. 1. The flange p of thesprocket-wheel is annular in form and arranged concentrically with theaxis of the wheel, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the flange will interlockwith the lip 0 of the crank in any position of the latter.

In assembling the parts the cone-sleeve B and the balls a andbearing-cups a are first placed in the hanger, and the crank-shaft isthen inserted in the cone-sleeve from the lefthand end thereof andscrewed into the threaded portion of the sleeve. Next the sprocketwheelis placed with its flange l in front of the opening of the socket is inthe crank-hub, as indicated by the dotted circle in Fig. 4, and saidflange is then introduced into the socket by moving one part laterallyon the other, which movement at the same time I causes the lip 0 of thecrank to interlock with the annular flange p of the sprocket-wheel. Theinterlocked sprocket wheel hub and crank-hub are next passed over thefree end of the crank-shaft, whereby the flange of the sprocket-wheelhub is locked in the socket k of the crank, and the shaft is then heldagainst turning and the sprocket screwed upon the shaft, thereby drawingthe crank-hub firmly upon the tapered and flattened end of the shaft. Ifdesired, the sprocket-wheel maybe screwed upon the shaft by firstplacing the driving-chain on the wheel and connecting its ends and thenturning the shaft by means of the cranks by riding the machine, thusdrawing the detachable crank to its seat by what may be termedscrew-power and dispensing with the use of a tool. After firmly securingthe crank in place the latter and the sprocket-wheel are connected bythe lockingbolt M, the sprocket-wheel being further turned by force, ifnecessary, to bring one of the openings of its web in line with thebolthole of the crank. If preferred, the parts may be assembled by firstplacing the left-hand To dismember the parts, the locking-bolt M 1 isremoved, the sprocket-wheel is then held against rotation and the cranksare turned backward, which causes the sprocket-wheel to unscrew from theshaft and at the same time force the detachable crank from the shaft bythe positive shifting action of the screw connection; The cone-sleeve isnext held against turning and the shaft is unscrewed therefrom byturning the permanent or lefthand crank and withdrawn from the sleeve,leaving the sleeve and the bearings undisturbed. During thisoperationthe cone-sleeve is held against turning from the outside of the bracketby any suitable means. For instance, this maybe done by means of aspringbolt A, which is arranged to slide radially in the hanger andwhich is interlocked with a notched or flat-sided collar c arranged onthe cone-sleeve, by pressing the spring-bolt inwardly into engagementwith said collar. The spring of this locking-bolt normally draws thebolt into the position in which it clears the collar of the cone-sleeve,as shown in Fig. 1. As the collars g h are removed with the shaft andthe sprocket-wheel the balls are exposed and can be inspected withoutdisturbing the bearing cups or cones. Should it be desired to remove thebearings from the hanger the left-hand cup is unscrewed from the hanger,whereupon the sleeve can be withdrawn from the hanger. The same methodmay be followed in case the cone-sleeve should become bound on the shaftso tightly that the shaft cannot be easily unscrewed therefrom.

My improved construction has the following advantages: The parts arestrong and few in number. They are easily made by ordinary methods fromdrop-forgings. The shaft is of small diameter and does not requirehardening and it passes entirely through the hub of the sprocket-wheeland the detachable crank, insuring a reliable connection of these parts.The bearing-cones can be replaced if defective or broken. The parts canbe connected and detached without special tools and without liability ofmarring the finish. The flange of the sprocket-wheel forms a support forthe same which affords additional security. The shaft may be detachedwithout disturbing the bearings or the latter may be -detached with theshaft, as desired, and the completehanger is free from projecting parts.It is light and compact in build and can be made at comparatively smallcost.

If desired, the cones may be made separate and connected by a piece oftubing 13, which is secured to the cones by screws or other suitablemeans, as shown in Fig. 6. This figure also shows a modification inwhichthe interlocking lips op of the crank and sprocketwheel employed inthe first described construction are omitted.

In the modified construction of the detachable crank shown in Fig. 7 thesame is provided on the side of its hub opposite the crank-arm with apair of radial arms g, which are perforated for the passage oflockingbolts, whereby the sprocket-wheel is secured to the crank, thesebolts being used in place of the single bolt M. (Shown in theconstruction previously described.) In this case the socket k of thecrank opens in a contrarydirection to that shown in the construction ofFigs. 1 to 5. in Fig. 7 may be used in connection with thesprocket-wheel of the first-described construction.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with an externally-- wheelhub, and having an opening in one side thereof for admitting the flangeof the sprocket-wheel hub,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a hanger, of a crank-shaft j ournaled in thehanger and having a permanent crank and a tapering collar or enlargementat one end thereof, a detachable crank at its opposite'end and anexternal screw-thread adjacent to the detachable crank and a sleevesurrounding the shaft,

carrying a bearing-cone at each end and provided at one end with aninternal screwthread engaging with the screw-thread of the shaft andhaving the opposite endof its bore tapered to fit the tapering collar ofthe shaft, substantially as set forth.

-Witness my hand this 24th day of November, 1896. v

EMMIT G. LATTA. Witnesses:

H. L. BLossoM, (J. J. RIoE.

If'desired, the crank shown

